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313
Christianity
Decree of Milan legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire. -
400
4th Century Literature
St Augustine AD 387-430
First Christian writer to reach wide readership. Confessions, the first autobiography, which is St. Augustine's account of his early life and conversion to Christianity. This story provides a glimpse of the prevailing influences on an intelligent young man in the declining years of the Roman empire.
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=eey -
451
Attila the Hun
Attila the Hun faced the Visigoths and Romans together in the Battle of Chalons. He went on to invade Italy but was convinced to withdraw by Pope Leo. He died in 453 -
476
End of the Roman Empire
Western Roman Empire ended - Emperor Romulus Augustulus was removed from office. -
Period: 500 to 1500
THe Middle Ages
The apple of one's eye
Baker's dozen
To play devil’s advocate
To throw down the gauntlet
A nest egg
To pay through the nose
To call a spade a spade -
523
5th Century Literature: Middle Ages
Boethius and The Consolation of Philosophy.describes his listless sadness and terror at his state. But in this downcast state, Boethius receives an unexpected visit. Lady Philosophy is carrying a pile of classical books in one hand and a scepter in the other – and she has come to visit Boethius in his cell in order to remind him of some of the fundamental truths of his favorite subject, largely as defined by the Stoic school of Greece and Rome -
590
Medievel Literature: Cura Pastoralis by Pope Gregory
Gregory the Great wrote the Cura Pastoralis, the year he was elected to be pope.. It is divided into sixty-five chapters organized into four parts: 1) concerning the qualifications of the one who comes to a position of spiritual leadership; 2) concerning the life of the pastor; 3) how the spiritual director who lives well should teach ; 4) that the preacher, after he has done everything that is required, should return to himself so that he does not take pride in his life or preaching. -
772
Charles the Hammer and the Battle of Tours
Charles Martel, also known as Charles the Hammer was a Frankish political and military leader who worked under the Merovingian Kings as the Mayor of the Palace. In 732 AD, he defeated Moorish invaders in the Battle of Tours which permanently ended the Islamic invaders and their expansion in western Europe. Charles Martel is considered as one of the founding fathers of feudalism and knighthood of Europe. He prepared the grounds for the establishment of Carolingian Empire. -
975
Beowulf
Beowulf, heroic writing by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet that may be the oldest surviving long story in Old English. The story is set in Scandinavia. Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall in Heorot has been under attack by a monster known as Grendel. Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland and later becomes king of the Geats. -
1000
Discovery of North America
Leif Ericson discovers Vinland (New England). -
1066
Medieval English Literature: The Norman Invasion
This French invasion changed Britain's formerly Anglo-Saxon culture and language to one that was much more like mainland Europe. And this invasion shaped the English language irrevocably; the new French influx pushed Old English down the path toward Middle English, a variety nearer to what people speak today. -
1215
Declaration of Magna Carta
The Magna Carta Libertatum, or the Great Charter of Liberties of England was originally issued in 1215 AD. This charter is considered to be the first step towards the constitutional government of England. The Charter of Magna Carta restricted the power of the Emperor and proved the importance of a Constitution. -
Period: 1348 to 1350
The Black Death
The Black Death or the Black Plague proved to be the most threatening epidemic of the European Middle Ages that significantly weakened the feudal system and the Church of Europe. Huge masses of people met untimely death because of this plague and it significantly reduced the economic and political power of the kingdoms of Europe. I -
1387
Geoffrey Chauser 1342-1400
The Canterbury Tales:
Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories in a frame story, between 1387 and 1400. It is the story of a group of thirty people who travel as pilgrims to Canterbury (England). Chaucer intended that each pilgrim should tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two tales on the way back. He never finished his enormous project and even the completed tales were not finally revised. Scholars are uncertain about the order of the tales. -
1440
The invention of the Printing Press
The printing press is a device that allows for the mass production of uniform printed matter, mainly text in the form of books, pamphlets and newspapers. Created in China and revolutionizing society there, the press was further developed in Europe in the 15th Century. -
1440
Gutenberg's Printing Press
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Period: 1450 to
Early Modern Period
Churle - person of low birth or a peasant. Romeo and Juliet
Ajax - a water closet; a lavatory. Love’s Labour’s Lost
Gong - a latrine Joannes de Mediolano. Regimen sanitatis Salerni
A Pox On You - I hope you contract a horrible incurable disease and die. Romeo and Juliet
Doxy - A promiscuous woman. When Daffodils Begin to Peer -
1492
October 12. Columbus discovers the New World.
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1492
Christopher Columbus
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1497
The Cabots discover the continent of North America.
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1498
Columbus on third voyage discovers South America.
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Period: 1500 to
Modern Phases "Old English"
Eald - means old
Brodor - means brother
Hus - means house
Nett - means net
Riht - means right -
1507
New World named after Americus Vespucius.
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Period: 1517 to
The Reformation
was one of the greatest events in European history. Prior to this period, the Roman Catholic Church had close to absolute control over the people and governments of the Christian world. It was when many of the learned men of the time began to question the practices of the church in comparison to the Bible that trouble arose. The intent of the Reformation was to reform the Catholic Church and bring it back to its biblical roots. -
Period: 1517 to
The Reformation
The intent of the Reformation was to reform the Catholic Church and bring it back to its biblical roots. The end result was a rending of the church into two factions: Catholics and Protestants. The Reformation brought the religious texts into the hands of the masses and began the decline of the Catholic power. -
William Shakespeare First Folio
First printed in 1623 included Eighteen of the plays in the First Folio had never before been published and otherwise might have been lost: All’s Well That Ends Well, Antony and Cleopatra, As You Like It, Comedy of Errors, Coriolanus, Cymbeline, 1 Henry VI, Henry VIII, Julius Caesar, King John, Macbeth, Measure for Measure, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, Timon of Athens, Twelfth Night, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and The Winter’s Tale. -
Period: to
The American Revolution
The Revolutionary War waged by the American colonies against Britain influenced political ideas and revolutions around the globe, as a small fledgling nation won its freedom from the greatest military force of its time. -
The American Revolution
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L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900, is the first fantasy written by an American to enjoy an immediate success upon publication. -
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald,
The Great Gatsby, considered by many to be Fitzgerald’s finest work and the book for which he is best known, is a portrait of the Jazz Age (1920s) in all its decadence and excess. -
A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams A landmark work, which won the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, A Streetcar Named Desire thrilled and shocked audiences with its melodramatic look at a clash of cultures. -
Tearing Down of the Berlin Wall
Through the middle of Berlin, a large wall was built to separate the capital city and symbolize the wall that separated the communist world from everyone else. When the wall came down in 1989, it signified the end of communist rule and birth of the voice of the people. -
September 11 Terrorist Attacks
On September 11, terrorists attack the World Trade Center in New York. The twin towers are hit by two jet airliners and collapse. Over 3,000 are killed. Another plane hits the Pentagon, and a fourth crashes in Pennsylvania. President Bush declares a war on terror and begins bombing Afghanistan. Troops are deployed and the Taliban government collapses. Hamid Karzai is sworn in as Afghanistan's leader. -
DC Sniper
John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo were arrested, tried and convicted for the shootings. Muhammad received a death sentence and was executed on November 10, 2009. Malvo was convicted and is waiting for re-sentencing after a federal judge overturned his two life sentences. -
Iraq War
The Iraq War was an armed conflict in Iraq that consisted of two phases. -
Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy kills at least 209 people in the Caribbean, Bahamas, United States and Canada. Considerable storm surge damage causes major disruption to the eastern seaboard of the United States.
